Southland Trio Take On An Icon

Southland Trio Take On An Icon

Southlanders aren’t frightened of much, so for three Southland women the prospect of taking on a national icon with their own auction website didn’t faze them at all. In fact, their project is positively blooming.

Daizychain.co.nz, an online clothing and accessories auction website launched recently (April 17), was established by Leigh Spencer, her sister Toni Spencer, and a family friend Anna Soper.

The three women are not business novices, but the online environment was relatively new to them so the project to build software capable of competing with some online auction big names was not an easy one, taking 18 months from inception to launch.

Add to that that two of the women live in different parts of New Zealand - Leigh in Hawke’s Bay and Anna in Invercargill - with Toni living in Queensland, Australia, and the project had some logistical challenges as well.

The women also wanted to create a win/win situation for their wider communities, envisaging that the website should be developed so it helped community groups which needed to raise money in a tighter funding environment.

“Hence the choice of a specialised clothing and accessories auction website because clothing is low/no liability and is easy to store, handle and post,” Leigh said.

Build it and they will come

“So once we knew what we wanted, we just had to find someone to build it for us.”

That search took three months, with Leigh eventually finding someone right on her doorstep in Taradale, Hawke’s Bay.

“We were very lucky. In spite of the project being about the internet, I wouldn’t have liked to have tried what we did if the developer had also lived somewhere else and we’d needed to communicate with him predominantly via email.

“I’m sure it can be done, I’m just pleased we didn’t have to.”

The site needed to be developed by someone with ASP programming skills because of the complex nature of what it had to be able to do – on Daizychain one sale can generate as many as 32 emails depending on other variables.

“Luckily my programmer, Birdwood Software’s Gerard van de Ven, is a Dutch mathematician. It definitely took that sort of brain and thinking to help make the project a success.

“His skills coupled well with my creativity and the whole thing has worked even if he did try to talk me out of using as many images as I have because of increased download times for users,” Leigh said.

“We compromised where possible, but it was really important to me that the site looked good. People buying clothing want a positive visual experience, not just the function of being able to buy and sell online. They can get that elsewhere.

“And with that in mind we didn’t just go ahead and copy what’s been done on other auction sites. Neither Gerard, nor his 2IC Ben Fox had done much online trading, and I specifically asked them not to during development of the Daizychain software.

“I wanted us to collectively develop a unique product that was about what worked best, not just about something to compete with what already existed. And I’m really happy with what we’ve achieved because of that approach.

“Everyone involved in the pre-launch testing commented about how easy and fast it is to use the site – and that praise comes from both complete computer novices through to experienced traders with online businesses.

“It’s fast, fresh and fun (to use), which is what we ended up with as our slogan.”

Hold ups

Having a clear vision for what they wanted has also had its drawbacks. The site launched eight months later than originally intended due to completely underestimating the work involved.

“It was disappointing for us. We’d already put in some hard yards with our research and time spent formulating what we wanted. It was then supposed to take six months to build. However, that six months became a year (and a bit) because we knew exactly what we wanted and weren’t prepared to compromise.

“We wanted to launch with as close to the finished product as we could, and that meant accepting the delay with good grace.

“On reflection, the timing may have worked in our favour. We know we’ve created a great site, and with the economic recession it is even more relevant for those who need to raise some extra cash.”

And why does the trio sincerely believe they’ve creating something that is destined to become a household name?

“We have a site that creates a win/win for everyone who gets involved. Because it is easier and faster to use, the financial return for traders (relative to time spent online) is greater. And it supports ease of listing and selling, making it a ‘one mouse click move’ enabling traders to include important information, like measurements, colour, type of fabric, that sort of thing.

“Other sites don’t make it easy for traders to readily include that information – they have to type it all in manually. And having that info there is essential for buyers who want to make informed choices and not feel like they’re wasting their time trawling through irrelevant listings.

“The other advantage we have over our big NZ competitor is our smaller size and the fact that we have specialised. They’ve got so huge that we think they’ve reached saturation point in their clothing categories. Their sell through rates have dropped and their clothing auction numbers have remained relatively static during the past two years.

“People are now looking for alternatives, and we’re confident we’ll attract both buyers and sellers who want another online marketplace for clothing and accessories.”

Opportunities for ‘resellers’

Daizychain founders believe the site not only offers a fresh opportunity for diehard clothing auction fans, but a new opportunity for groups and individuals who want to on-sell clothing for people who don’t have the time or inclination but who’d be happy for the extra income.

“Called resellers, the traders take a percentage of the sale and pass the balance onto the clothing owners. It’s great for people who want the money but who don’t want to auction the clothing themselves.”
“The great thing is that there is no shortage of clothing and there are plenty of people within your community who don't want to sell their own clothing but who are happy to have you sell it for them, or to donate items to groups for fundraising,” Leigh says.
“People are a lot more familiar with the online trading environment thanks to Trade Me and E-Bay, but the difference with a specialised clothing site is that clothing is no risk, easy to transport, handle and store.

“This makes it an ideal specialty item for fundraising groups to auction for profit. You’re not selling something like a toaster that might blow up and all the liability issues surrounding that.

“We’ve got schools and kindies that are going to get their students to bring along one saleable item of clothing a month – with Mum and Dad’s permission of course – and they’ll auction those items as part of ongoing fundraising.

“It’s not just restricted to groups. Individuals can establish themselves as resellers and make a good living as well, which is ideal for families where extra income in needed.”

Sales support

In addition to an interface that makes listing items easy, Daizychain provides systems support for those who utilise the site.

And to support resellers in their record keeping and communication with clients, Daizychain offers features not available via other auction websites.

“They (resellers) can manage their client data base via the site, and the site sends out emails to their clients advising them when items have been listed and when they successfully sell.”

Potential clients are also able to find resellers in their area and contact them via the site providing resellers with free advertising.
Resellers can also tap into the experience the trio has gleaned while building the site.
“We know our site inside out, and we’re happy to train others in its use.”
Additional support to resellers is also provided a dedicated web resource, providing step-by-step assistance, resources, tips, FAQs, video help files and troubleshooting advice for both newbies and experienced online traders alike.
“We think we’ve done a blooming good job, even if we do say so ourselves.”

ends

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